Spring-Ford superintendent unveils sponsorship packages

ROYERSFORD — The Spring-Ford Area School District is looking to standardize packages and fees for advertising opportunities for local businesses within the district.

Superintendent David Goodin presented to the school board at its workshop meeting Monday night the packages that will be made available to local businesses in a tri-fold pamphlet that will be sent out shortly.

Those that spend money on sponsorships can designate where half of their contributions go, such as directly to the high school’s volleyball team or to the district arboretum project.

“We don’t want to preclude them from their contributions,” Goodin said.

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The tri-fold that will be sent out will be accompanied by a letter from Goodin and followed up on by a phone call from the district.

The new strategy for selling sponsorships will not preclude any of the district’s organizations, such as sports teams or after-school clubs, from doing their normal fundraising.

In fact, Goodin said they could use the district’s sponsorship template and pricing to aid in their fundraising.

“What we want to do is create an umbrella under which everybody can operate,” Goodin said.

He described the sponsorship plans the district put out as “another vehicle” for fundraising.

Different levels of sponsorship will be made available with different perks.

The top level, for $5,000, is the “Spring-Ford Sponsor.”

A business that attains that sponsorship will be recognized in all district publications, receive recognition on Spring-Ford television programs, have a scrolling advertisement at Coach McNelly Stadium for events there, have an advertisement in the high school gymnasium, be included on the district website as a sponsor and receive recognition in publications of the district’s education foundation.

The sponsorship classifications below that have the same perks, but lose on or two of them as they go down the ladder.

In addition to those packages, there is an “A La Carte” option where individual perks have been priced out, according to Goodin’s presentation Monday.

For instance, getting inclusion as a sponsor on the district website is $1,900 and being recognized on a Spring-Ford television show is $1,250. A scrolling ad at Coach McNelly stadium is $350.

Goodin said the sponsorship policy has been in place since 2005 and the itemization and bundling of them into packages is not a change from the original policy.

School Board President Tom Dibello agreed, saying “this was already rolling” and the packaging and pricing provides “structure.”

“This isn’t new,” DiBello said.

A business that takes buys one of the packages or sponsorship items will need to be brought to the board for approval of the contract, Goodin said.

About the Author

Frank Otto is a general assignment reporter covering Phoenixville, Limerick and Spring-Ford schools in addition to features and spot news. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Otto moonlights with the sports department on occasion. Reach the author at fotto@pottsmerc.com
or follow Frank on Twitter: @fottojourno.